Republicans Calling for the Release of Rent Relief

Republicans in the state Legislature gathered in Saratoga County on Wednesday to call on the state to facilitate rent relief for business owners and landlords, who’ve struggled during the pandemic due to lost rent.

Sen. Daphne Jordan, a Republican from Saratoga County, unveiled a letter she sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this month, requesting the release of $1.3 billion in federal rent relief funds, and reforms to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

Specifically, she said that the requirement for tenants to be involved in the application process has led to many landlords going without assistance. 

“The practical reality of these provisions, as shared with me by many local landlords, is that they will not be able to recoup their total losses and that some, not all, rent scofflaws have absconded from rental premises without sharing necessary information, hence, the lack of cooperation,” Jordan said. 

Sen. Jim Tedisco, R-Schenectady, who was also at Wednesday’s event, said that the $2.4 billion in rent relief included in the state budget has also been stalled due to procedural issues. 

“If our small property owners go out of business, that impacts the renters as well as there won’t be enough affordable housing stock available,” Tedisco said. 

“Unfortunately, the rental assistance relief funding that was designated by the state is not getting to many of these small property owners who have not been paid, in many cases, since March 2020.”

Several property owners were also at Wednesday’s event. One of them was Chris Morris, the Executive Director of Schenectady Landlords Influencing Change.

“There’s Romeo with 18 units and he’s owed $30,000, with damages of $9,000, then there’s Dick with 23 units, $80,000 down, and then Ahmad with 40 units, $140,000 down,” Morris said. 

“How do you exist? How do you not cry?”

Jordan says that she has about a dozen constituents in a similar situation, which is why she’s supporting a bill by Tedisco to create a loan-to-grant program for those property owners. 

That bill would provide a loan to landlords who have lost money since the COVID eviction moratorium started, which they would pay back if their tenants paid their back rent. If not, it would become a grant after a certain amount of time elapsed, making those property owners whole. 

That bill is currently in the Housing, Construction, and Community Development Committee in the Senate, and the Housing Committee in the Assembly.